Challengers for the Kingdom
by CherryBlossom07
Summary: Total AU1185: Emperor exiled Christians. Sakura left Tomoyo behind. Sakura meets the warrior Syaoran Li. Tomoyo who was lady in waiting meets Eriol the outlaw and Dave the knight who both attracts her. Two woman must find her loyalty and her destiny lies.
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own those characters, the plot, and the real people who are alive or dead. Those characters are owned by Clamp. The plot is owned by Kathleen Givens.**

Prologue

Tomoeda

July 1185

"Sakura! Sakura, wake up!"

At first Lily's whispered words blended into her dream. Sakura turned her head away from the fear in her sister's voice. She'd been dreaming of spring, of cherry blossom falling softly from a bright tree. She and Lily, little girls, had been dancing, laughing as they collected the flowers in their small hands. Then Lily's mouth had opened in a wail and the sky had darkened and the cherry blossom turned wet. Sakura climbed her way back to the world, her mind resisted, for whatever had frightened Lily would frighten her as well.

"Wake up!" Lily shook Sakura's shoulder.

Sakura opened her eyes. It was still dark. Although it was summer, there was a chill in the air. Outside the rain drummed on the roof just above their heads and the shutters clattered as the wind shook them against the wooden frame. She heard it then too-a terrible pounding on the door, male voices raised in anger.

"They're here," Lily whispered.

Sakura sat up, fully awake now. She knew who they were: the emperor's men, here to drive them from their home. Just as Nadeshiko had predicted. Just Nadeshiko had prepared for. Fujitaka, ever overprotective, had argued that their family would remain untouched, no matter what Emperor Minamoto's proclamation had said.

She could hear her father's voice now from her parents' room below. The pounding on the door stopped. The rain was too loud for her to hear their words, but Fujitaka talked for a moment before she heard hurried footsteps on the stairs. The door to their bedroom was flung open and Nadeshiko rushed in.

"Get dressed, girls," she said, still fastening her own clothes as she spoke in a near whisper. "Remember the bundles under your clothes. Say nothing. No matter what happens, do not argue with them. And if…if there is violence…run. Remember the plan."

Lily nodded; already out of bed and pulling her skirts on over the shift in which she'd slept.

"Okaa-san," Sakura said, but her mother shook her head rapidly.

"Get dressed. Say nothing. Do it, Sakura! For once in your life do not argue. Just do what I say." And then she was gone.

It was a blur then, Sakura and Lily dressed and stuffed the bundles they'd prepared under their clothes, attached smaller ones to each knee, where they would be hidden under their skirts. The satchels they carried held only clothes and a few keepsakes that would not alarm anyone: ribbons for their hair, a lucky stone, a lace collar, a cloak pin. Nothing to raise suspicion. They had been tutored well. But Sakura had never believed this would happen. Despite all their preparations, all Mama's instructions, Sakura had not believed they would have to leave their homeland.

Emperor Minamoto had announced his edict on July 16, expelling the sixteen thousands of Christian residents in Japan from his kingdom. Within days, the streets of Tomoeda had been full of those who had already begun their mass departure. Some had simply left everything they could not carry, and walked away from homes and shops and all they'd contained. Others had tried to sell their business and houses, and of those, some had been able to receive fair prices, but most had gotten only a pittance of the value. They'd scattered, neighborhoods and families separated, perhaps forever.

Many of the Christians had said they would not leave, declaring that Emperor Minamoto had been their protector in the past. Just a few years ago had he not brought them within the walls of the Places and kept them safe? He would not abandon them now. The edict they'd said, was to soothe the feelings of those who had raised their voices against them, a political move on Emperor Minamoto's part. Nothing more. But others remembered when Emperor Minamoto had imprisoned the moneylenders in the Places. Hundreds had died.

At first there had been no mass plotting of Christians, no massacre of those who had not leave immediately. But for others, it had been different. Several families had already been roused in the middle of the night, and removed from their homes, escorted to the gate of Tomoeda, and throw out to fend for themselves. There did not seem to be a pattern to it, but it had happened every day for almost a fortnight. And now, on the twenty-ninth of July, it was their turn. Her father had been so sure they would be spared.

_This is not real. This is my dream and I will wake up to find myself in a __spring storm with Lily. This is not real._

"_Hayo shine-ma_!" Lily said. "Faster! I can hear them on the stairs."

They were barely dressed when the first emperor's man appeared outside their bed chamber. He was older, his gray, grizzled hair refusing to stay under the helmet of the emperor's guard that he wore. He touched the brim with a sharp gesture. His name is Yue.

"Mistresses. You have been given until daybreak to pack your belongings." He glanced outside at the dark. "Not long now."

"And if we're not ready to leave by then?" Sakura asked.

"Sakura!" Lily shouted.

"My orders are that you are to leave. If you want to live…" Yue shrugged, as though it were of not matter to him.

Sakura nodded tightly. There was would be no mercy, no small kindnesses from this man. Yue watched with a stony expression as they stripped the bed and tied the linens together. Lily, her head bent over the bundle of linens, picked up her satchel. Keeping her eyes lowered, she squeezed past the man and made her way down the stairs.

Sakura took one last look at the room she'd slept in her whole life, at the empty bedframe, the mattress sagging against the ropes, the empty hooks on the wooden wall that had held their clothes. At the iron candlestick on the small table in the corner, which held the one precious candle they'd been allowed on winter nights. She reached for the candlestick and heard Yue clear his throat. She glanced over her shoulder. He met her gaze and shook his head; she pulled her hand away as through the candle would burn her, feeling her face flush. For one mad moment she wanted to shout at him that the candlestick was a paltry thing for him to take from her when he was already taking her home and her past, but instead she kept silent and following her sister.

Downstairs her father was packing his books in an oiled cloth bag with his siddur, the prayer book, and the bible, given to him by his grandfather. The menorah and the tallit lay in a small chest at his feet. Outside she heard the rattle of the cart her mother had reserved, just in case. She could see the tears in her father's eye as he worked, but he won't look at her. Neither would the two younger guards, both just few years older than she and Lily. One gestured for her to go into the back room. Sakura stood frozen, staring at him. He wants her to go into the empty dark room. With him. Alone. She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to look into Okaa-san's eyes, seeing banking anger there.

"The cart is here," Okaa-san said softly, in different tone that Sakura had never heard her use. "May we load it, please, sir?"

The guard must have nodded, for Okaa-san picked up a box and carried it out the front door. Sakura did the same, glad to be out of doors, where the rain had decline to a drizzle. The carter stopped them with an upraised hand.

"Payment first," he growled.

"We will pay you when we're out of the city," Okaa-san said.

"That's what we agreed."

The carter laughed low in his throat. "Then carry your own goods, madam. You have until daybreak."

Okaa-san stiffened, but relented with a nod and handed the man the coins from the pocket at waist. He shook his head and named a very expensive price.

"That's not what we agree!" Okaa-san said; an edge of fear in her voice now.

"Daybreak," the carter said. "Decide."

"We'll take it." Otou-san said and reached past Okaa-san to hand the man the rest of the money. The carter bit each coin in turn, and then grunted.

"Load it yourself. Only two ride. The others walk."

It took less than an hour to load everything. Okaa-san and Lily rode on the back of the cart as they made their way through the chilly streets. When the sky brightened Sakura could see the fear in her parents' eyes. Daybreak was almost here and they still had much of the city to cross.

She hadn't looked back at their house, refused to think, even to herself, that she would never be back. She had not acknowledged the few faces at the windows above the street as they'd left. She'd known those people since she was a child, but not one of them had lent them assistance, not one had raised a cry of dismay. Not one had said a word, not even farewell. It was as though she and her family had never known these people.

Her family had left much behind-their furniture, except for a few stools-but they'd taken her father's books, her mother's precious plate, her sister's dowry box, and three chests holding their possessions. Her mother had sighed as she'd looked around her kitchen, running her hand one last time over the wooden table she'd used daily. Sakura had turned away from the sight, her anger threatening to erupt. What had she and her family done to deserve this? They'd been good citizens of Tomoeda, good subjects of the Emperor. Their customs and beliefs might be different from those of the Jews, but they prayed to the same Father God, obeyed the same rules. What sins against society has made them outcasts now?

And what of the Christians who stayed despite all the warnings, those who watched them now-would they pay dearly for their decision? Would soldiers truly kill all those who remained? She would not think of it, would not remember their names. She would not think of the boy who had promised to court her when they were older, who had watched silently as she and her family left. Would not think of Tomoyo, her dearest friend, who would never know what had happened to her only that Sakura had left with no farewell.

The light was brighter now and the rain had stopped. But still they were in Tomoeda. There were other Christian families departing too, people carrying bundles and babies, hurrying toward the city walls. Carts like theirs fought for places in line to pass through the gate, and their carter swore and whipped his horse to push forward. Sakura, like her Otou-san, kept one hand on the cart, unsettled now by those around them and the fear that suddenly filled the air.

Boys assault them with rotten fruit from overhead, but no one complained. Everyone was concentrating on the looming sunrise and the slow-moving line passing through the gate. And then her Okaa-san was hit with refuse, the dark stain spreading on the shoulder of her gown. Her Otou-san whirled, his face a mask of rage.

"Iie!" Okaa-san cried. "Fujitaka, no! Ignore it."

Otou-san was hit next, and his face went red. "Is it not enough that we are forced from our homes? Is it not enough that we are running like cattle? Must we endure this humiliation as well? It is beyond bearing?"

Okaa-san grabbed his arm. "Fujitaka, think! They are nothing, those boys throwing this at us. They want you to get angry. They want you to go after them! And then what? We will still be here at dawn. And what will happen to you, to us? Ignore it. They are nothing. This is nothing. We will survive this."

They stared into each other's eyes. And then Otou-san nodded.

There was a sudden turmoil behind them, a troop of the emperor's cavalry burst through the throng, coming forward with great show of weapons and armor, and lining the path to the gate, the horses' breath looking like smoke from a foul fire in the unseasonably cool morning air. Sakura looked at the faces of the emperor's men; at the glances they gave each other and the sky. Would the soldiers be given order to fall upon those who were still in Tomoeda at daybreak? She began to pray, for her family, for those behind them. Ten people ahead of them, then six.

And then she heard Tomoyo's voice.

"Sakura! Sakura!"

Only Tomoyo Daidouji would have braved this madness, Sakura thought, her heart lifting. One person in all of Tomoeda still cared whether she lived or died. "Tomoyo!" she cried, standing on her toes, trying to find her friend, "Tomoyo!"

The line moved forward and Otou-san grabbed her arm. "Do not stop, Sakura!"

"But, Otou-san, it's Tomoyo! How did she know?"

"She lives at court," he said. "They all know."

"Sakura!" Tomoyo's voice was louder now.

A slim hand with long fingers waved madly above the fray, and Sakura finally saw her. Tomoyo's dark black hair was in tangle, tumbling around her shoulders as though she'd risen hastily from her bed. She was dressed as a servant, her clothing regular and plain, but not convincing. Servant girls did not have Tomoyo's fine bone structure or her rare beauty. Sakura's eyes glowing with tears of gratitude that her friend had found her.

"Here! Tomoyo, here!"

"We have no time for this, Sakura!" Otou-san said.

Sakura stayed where she was, waving her arm high. The group in front of her family was arguing with the guards at the gate, and it became clearly why the wait was so long. They would have to pay to leave! The word spread to those behind them, and she could smell their fear and anger. The emperor's men let their horses paw at the ground, as eager to start their tasks.

"I thought I would not find you!" Tomoyo scurry through the crowd and hug Sakura.

"I could not send word to you! Forces came-"

"I heard what was happening and ran to your house," Tomoyo gasped, "but you were not there. Oh Sakura! Where will you go? Sir, where will you go?"

Otou-san's expression has softened. "I don't know, Tomoyo. I don't know."

"I did not believe the emperor would enforce his declaration!" Tomoyo's eyes were wide with worry. "You'll have no safety passageway. You'll have no security! It will be dangerous. You know how dangerous the roads are!"

"We have no choice," Otou-san said.

"I wish I had money or the authority to send men with you! Be cautious, be so cautious!" Tomoyo cried and hugged Sakura tighter. "I cannot tolerate it! It will be so long until we see each other again!"

"Tomoyo, we will never see each other again"

"No, no, do not even say that!" Tomoyo said. "We _will_ meet again. You must believe it! We must both believe it! We will always be friends. Nothing, not even this, will change that!"

"Sakura, come!" Otou-san said as their turn came to pass through the gate. He handed the gatekeeper coins and turned to Sakura.

"Farewell, Tomoyo. Thank you for being a friend to my daughter. Come."

Sakura tore herself out of Tomoyo's arm, both girls weeping.

"Stay safe, dear friend," Tomoyo said. "Sakura, oh dear God, take care! I will pray for you every day! I will pray for you all!"

"And I you, Tomoyo! I will think of you in your new life at court!"

"Sakura, come!"

Sakura passed with her family through the gate. She turned to look for Tomoyo but could not see past the turbulent crowd pushing through behind them. The sun's rays touched the tops of Tomoeda's buildings, and her Otou-san turned her away from the sight, hurrying her along the road behind the cart. Her tears, let loose by Tomoyo's appearance, continued to flow.

"Sakura," Otou-san said, his voice comforting. "We are out of Tomoeda, and we have much ahead of us. Dry your eyes. We'll face the future together."

Sakura snuffled. Now they faced the dangers of the road. She hugged her arms and look at the stain on her Okaa-san's shoulder. Part of her would never feel safe again.


	2. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own those characters, the plot, and the real people who are alive or dead. Those characters are owned by Clamp. The plot is owned by Kathleen Givens.**

Chapter 1

China

September 1185

Madison Li Hiiragizawa lifted her head and let the wind blow through her hair while she caught her breath. Even after all these years, she still climbed to the top of this promontory to wait for her man to come home. Two ships today, and neither of them his, but there were still hours of daybreak left. She was not worried, for Alexander Hiiragizawa was a man to trust. He'd said he'd be home this day, and home he would be.

She'd missed him. Wasn't that strange, to live with a man for nigh on thirty years, then miss him terribly when he'd only been gone a few days? He'd not gone anywhere unusual or dangerous, only to Taipei to visit her brother Xi Ling Li, then down to Pingtung to visit their elder son, Jacob, who lived on the lands the emperor had granted to Alexander so many years ago.

And there it was the sail she'd expected and had hoped to see. Alexander's ship was approaching rapidly from the south, its rail almost under water, its white sail mirroring the foam at its bow as the black hull sliced through the dark blue water. But it was not alone on the sea, for there, in the north, was a second sail, one that made her draw her breath in sharply. A dragon ship. A long ship, of Viking devises its wide beam and shallow hull bringing back a flood of undesirable memories. Dark storm clouds fluttering behind it, putting the square sail, red with yellow stripes, into high aid. She clutched her arms and ignored the chill that swept through her, reminding herself that it was not a warship- those days were over forever. It would be a messenger from the north, nothing more. Still… She looked south where Alexander's ship was nearing the entrance to the sea loch, was comforted. Whatever the news the dragon ship brought, she and Alexander would face it together, as they had everything else life had brought them.

She turned to start down the slope, and then took a moment to look over the glen that was her home, where she and Alexander had built a life together, blinding the remnants of her family and clan into a thriving community. The sea loch was now known as Loch Alexander, which never failed to entertain her husband. But the honor was proper, for without him, none of them would be here. Across the usually placid waters, ruffled now by the wind, the mountains rose to the north and the east, protecting them from the world beyond. Below her the fortress grew out of the rocky promontory on which it rested, and to which she now hurried, hearing the horns sounding twice, first with the familiar notes that let all below know that the lord of the glen was coming home, then again, with the message that a ship was approaching and that it was not one of their own. Alexander had the men of the clan well trained, and her staff would know to prepare a meal to welcome him and his men home. But she would greet him –and the visitors-herself.

Eriol, her younger son, tall, strong, and ready for the world, met her on the path to the postern gate, his navy hair catching the light, the same shade as his father's. He was so like his father. He had Alexander's chin, Alexander's sapphire eyes, and his wide shoulders. And his patience.

"Mother! Do you know who it is? Father and who else?"

She shook her head, not wanting to betray how breathless her headfirst rush had made her. She often forgot that she was no longer young, but her body never did. "Hai, your father's coming. But the other is a dragon ship."

Eriol's eyebrows drew together, just as his father's always did when he turned thoughtful. "From Beijing? Perhaps with the news of the empress's progress?"

Madison's mood lifted at once. Isabel, Maid of England, only nine years old, was on her way to accept her kingdom of China that she had held since she was two. "Hai. That's what it is. Takashi did say he'd let us know when she stopped in Beijing on her way to Hong Kong. I'll just-"

"Go to meet father," Eriol finished with a laugh. "As if you didn't always do that?"

"And someday, my son, if you are as lucky as your father, your wife will do the same."

"You'll have to teach her to love me as you do father."

"Love! He's been spreading rumors again, has he?"

She laughed with him and led the way into the fortress that Alexander had built to keep them all safe. Wooden walls at first, replaced over the years with thick stone walls, filled with rubble to withstand siege machines. And unable to be burnt to the ground, like both Huawaizhide and Taiwan had been. But she would not remember that now, any of it. Those reminiscences belonged to a time past, when she and her sister Naoko and young Xi Ling had faced horrors no one should have to endure. When Alexander had entered her life and changed it forever.

She'd been Alexander Hiiragizawa's wife for twenty-seven years, had borne five children and seen two live to be grown men. Jacob, already married, was learning how to manage lands and people. And Eriol was young, but Eriol would do well, for Eriol excelled at everything he attempted. All he needed-eventually-was a home of his own, and a woman to love, and, yes, to love him, for he deserved it. But that would come in time.

_Alexander's Lady_ sailed into Loch Alexander under full sail, her husband at the helm. Madison stood, as she always did, at the end of the dock, waiting for him, Eriol at her side. The sky was darkening and the wind rising, bringing the smell of the storm with it. This one would be more than simple showers, for already the mountaintops across the loch were obscured, and the seabirds were flying inland, seeking shelter. The autumnal equinox often brought fierce storms, and this one, coming nine days later, looked to be no exception. Eriol's hair was whipping around his hair, and brushed it back with a gesture that was so like his father's that she smiled.

And then Alexander himself was calling to her, his tall form alive with movement. As always, she saw nothing else. He wore the clothes of a Chinese. He'd abandoned his English clothing long ago. Sometimes she herself forgot that he was of England and not a native of China that had always been her home. But the painting carvings along the railing of his ship, English symbols and Chinese runes painted gold against the black of the rail, reminded her that he was her gift from the sea. England's loss and China's gain.

She waved in return, her smile wide. Her man was home and all was well… for a moment at least, for there, rounding the last turn through the empty entrance that hid Loch Alexander from the world came the dragon ship. She recognized it as Takashi's at once. The Chinese had been their friend since their fateful meeting that long-ago summer 1158. Their friendship had begun strangely. They'd been enemies who quickly discovered that they were united in their hatred of Dave Yamazaki, Takashi's uncle and the man who had murdered her family. They'd joined forces and had finally defeated Dave in the mighty battle on the isle of Taipei that was still talked about all over China. Takashi waved, but not with his normal enthusiasm, and her heart lurched. Whatever news he bought was not good. She was certain it did not concern Jacob, or her brother Xi Ling, and his family, for Alexander had just come from them. Surly not Jocelyn, who was in Beijing to greeting the child empress, nowhere near the Hong Kong nor the sea.

But something had happened.

"Young woman," Alexander called, as his ship neared the dock. "You do see Takashi, Hai? Sent word to bar the door to the wine cellar. He'll drink us out of house and home."

She smiled, but saw Alexander's eyes narrow as he looked at the dragon ship and knew he saw the same tension in Takashi's stance, that she did. Takashi was wearing leather armor and a leather helmet that hid his black hair. Not the attire of a man simply visiting friends, but what a sensible man might wear in uncertain times. She kept her silence waiting while the clansmen caught the ropes and secured _Alexander's Lady_. She wrapped her arms around Alexander when he caught her in his embrace and kissed her for all the clan to see, his devotion never failing to please her.

He smiled down at her. "I missed you, Madison. How are you?"

"Wonderful now that you're here," she said.

She laid her hand along his cheek and kissed him again. He was no longer young, this wonderful man of hers. There were lines around his navy blue eyes and gray at his temples now, but he still moved quickly and his back was still straight. He was still the most handsome man she'd ever seen, and she was the most fortunate of women to love this fierce warrior and have him love her in return. She smiled again as Alexander hugged Eriol, clapping the boy on his shoulder.

"Tell me it's you growing and not me shrinking," Alexander said to his son.

"It's me growing, Father," Eriol said, and they both laughed.

"All is well here, love," she said. "It's good to have you home. How is everyone?"

"Well. Everyone's well," Alexander said. "Jacob is learning how to run his own, and Eleanor is the same as she always is."

Which meant, Madison thought, that their daughter in law, difficult at best, was as prickly and spoiled as ever. Jacob was a good man, but serious and cautious, and Madison had hoped he would marry a woman with laughter in soul, rather than a woman like Eleanor. Still, she pleased Jacob and what else could a mother want for her son?

"Your brother sends his love," Alexander told her. "His pile of rocks is beginning to look like a castle instead of a rubble heap. It'll be a good fortress when it's finished. Xi Ling wants you come and see it soon. Everyone there is fine." He looked at Takashi's ship and his tone deepened. "We'll see what news he brings. You've heard nothing?"

Madison shook her head. "Iie. Eriol thinks it must be about the empress' journey from England. She was to stop in the Beijing."

Alexander wrapped an arm around her. "That must be it."

"Takashi himself," Eriol said. "Must be important."

"We've not seen him here for four years," Madison said quietly. "Since we lost Emperor Reed."

Alexander met her gaze. "Hai, since we lost the king."

The dragon ship slid alongside the wooden dock, and Takashi leaned forward over the rail. He snatched off his helmet. His gaze swept across them.

"She's dead," Takashi said. "Your empress is dead in Beijing."

"Madison gasped. "Are you sure? The little girl is dead?"

"I came as soon as I heard," Takashi said. "The word is just getting out. I knew you'd want to hear it at once."

"Oh, the poor child!" Madison cried.

Alexander reached to clasp Takashi's hand. "Hai, you're right. And I thank you for bringing word yourself, my friend. Now come inside and tell us all the rest of it."

"What does it mean?" Eriol asked. "What will her death mean?"

"There will be a struggle for the kingdom," Madison told her son, shaking her head. "And there's no assurance that the winner will be the best leader for our people."

"It means," Alexander said, "that the wolves will be coming out of their lairs. And the leopard in the south will wait to see who wins. Gods help China now."

There was not much more for Takashi Yamazaki to tell then the stark news of the child empress's death on her journey to claim her kingdom. She'd been called the Maid of England because her father had been King Terada of that land, but her grandfather had been China's Emperor Reed, and she had been the queen of China since she was two. The Maid, the daughter of Reed's daughter, had been the last of his line. Now she too was dead, and the succession was left unclear.

Madison sat with Alexander and Eriol near the huge stone fire place in their Great Hall, listening to Takashi. The years since she'd last seen the Chinese from Beijing had changed him. Takashi was younger than Alexander, but his black hair was ribboned with gray. He looks weary beyond words, and she felt a wave of affection for their staunch friend. Takashi had left his own wife and family to bring the news to them. There were good men in the world- even in Beijing.

"It's said she became ill on the voyage," Takashi said. "Some say, of course, that she was poisoned, but I've heard she was sickly. And in truth, there is no reason for England or us Chinese to have the child die on their watch.

"Nor does it benefit Emperor Minamoto," Alexander said. "This will change his plans."

"A child should not be a pawn in games of powers," Madison said. "What was her father thinking to let her leave him? She's just a little girl." She paused. "She was just a little girl, poor soul."

"Her father was thinking that he'd signed the treaty with Minamoto of Japan, pledging her to his son," Alexander said. "And Emperor Mina's a mere boy, only twenty, I think. Minamoto is a force to be reckoned with. Lesser men have crumbled before him. I'm not surprised that Mina let Minamoto have his way."

"Foul thing, that," Takashi said, "to wed your son to your sister's granddaughter."

"And as foul to have the Pope approve it," Alexander said "But approve it he did. And now there is no clear heir."

"It'll have to go back generations," Madison said. "The Bruce clan will claim the kingdom is theirs. So will the Li clan who were my kin." She sighed, thinking of the measures her kin might take to assure that their position. "And there are a host of illegitimate royal children who could make claims."

Takashi frowned. "Surely they'll have no success? I'm no expert on China politics, but I cannot remember a bastard taking the kingdom."

"Actually," Alexander said with a laugh, "many bastards have taken the kingdom. But no, I cannot see one of the earlier emperors' bastards getting the kingdom. What's the talk in Beijing? What are your people thinking?"

Takashi smiled ruefully. "That they wish she'd died somewhere else. Some are thinking this will bring King Terada of England's wrath on Beijing, although Terada's men were with her. Others are afraid that the China will blame us and take revenge, or that Minamoto of Japanese will. And although no one's saying it straight out, some are wondering if she was as ill as she was made out to be."

Alexander's brows furrowed. "Murder?"

"Unlikely, but not impossible," Takashi said. "Show me a country where men cannot be bought or frightened into betraying someone who trusted them. There are evil men in every land. As we know."

Alexander nodded. "There is the kingdom at stake. That will bring out the greedy ones and China, like everywhere, has its share."

"What will Jocelyn do?" Madison asked, turned to Takashi. "Naoko and her older daughter, Megan, were to serve the empress. They're at Shanghai, waiting for her arrival."

"Well," Alexander said to Madison, "now Naoko will not be going to Tomoeda with the empress. Despite the reason for it, that should please you, young woman."

"Hai," Madison said, comforted by the thought. The Maid was to have stopped at Shanghai and Fujian to greet many of Chinese's nobles, and then travel to Tomoeda, to live at Emperor Minamoto's place and await her marriage to Minamoto's son. Naoko was to have accompanied her, with her daughters. "I wonder if Naoko was stay at Shanghai while the emperor is chosen. What if she hasn't heard yet? We must get word to her."

"I'll go," Eriol said eagerly, drawing her gaze. "I'll go to Shanghai and tell her."

Her son's face was alight with the possibility of the journey, and Madison felt a feeling of fear. She would lose him. She'd always known they could not keep Eriol at Loch Alexander forever, that its peaceful life was not enough to hold him. They'd taken him on their travels to Japan and throughout China and he had accompanied Alexander to the Continent and to Tomoeda. But Eriol was ready now for more. Or thought he was.

Alexander looked at his son thoughtfully. "They will hear this before we can get you or anyone there, but it might be a good idea to send you. I'd like to know what is being said at court."

"I could leave in the morning," Eriol said.

"You'd need other to go with you"

"Not many," Eriol said, naming a few young men.

Madison listened to them discussing the journey. Eriol's manner betrayed his growing excitement, and she hid her own sadness. Why could Eriol not have ventured into a peaceful China, as his brother had? Why now was he hearing the call to join the world, when once again China was about to plunge into turmoil? Or was she being ridiculous? She leaned close to her husband.

"Alexander, I feared this," she whispered. "Am I wrong, love, to worry so?"

Alexander kissed the top of her head. But he did not answer.

October 1185

Tomoeda

"There will be men," Tomoyo Daidouji's Okaa-san said, bending to examine the hem of Tomoyo's dress. "They will test you, you know. They are the hunters."

"Hai, Okaa-san," Tomoyo said.

She had heard this lecture many times before. The men whom her mother called "the hunter," preyed upon young girls foolish enough to exchange their virginity for a few trinkets. Invisible in her modest clothing, she'd watched these men lean over a shoulder, caress a cheek, and kiss a neck. And never notice her watching. But those days were over. Now she would be one of those pursued.

"Most of the men are married," her mother said, adjusting the fall of the silk gown Tomoyo worn. "But even those who are not do not have honorable intentions. Some of the girls are foolish enough to think what they're being offered is true affection. They do not see it for the game of hunter and prey that it is." She straightened and looked into Tomoyo's eyes. "Those girls do not realize that they are nothing more than a prize, a name for these men to brandish before their friends and then be forgotten. Many a young girl has mistaken lust for love and exchanged away her only value. You will not be one of them."

"Iie, Okaa-san."

She knew the answer her mother wanted to hear. And truly, she had listened and learned, knew the price of such foolishness. She was taking the place of a girl from a good family who had suddenly left the royal household after weeks of vomiting at strange times, obviously with child. Tomoyo would not be so foolish.

"Remember this day," her mother said. "Nothing will ever be the same. You have been invited to serve Meiling of China, by God's mercy the Empress of Japan and Ireland and Aquitaine. Over all the others, she chose you, a Japanese girl, instead of one from her own land. It is a high honor. And an unexpected one, given who we are."

And while the honor could not be declined, neither could it be explained. Her mother was convinced it was because of their ties of the kingdom, but that had been generations ago, and, the family had been all but ignored in the years since. Tomoyo's great-grandmother had been seduced by an emperor who had never acknowledged the child-her grandmother-and who had been disowned by her family, left to fend for herself. Happily, the emperor had given her great-grandmother a house of her own in the City of Tomoeda, where she had raised her daughter alone, and done it well.

It had helped, of course, that Tomoyo's great-grandmother had been a beauty and had passed those qualities down. Tomoyo was fortunate to have inherited her mother's clear skin and amethyst eyes and wavy black hair. She had her mother's long fingers and, her mother told her, her father's height. Her mother's expression softened and she turned Tomoyo to face their luxury, the long mirror from the Continent that had been a gift from her grandfather.

"Look at yourself."

Tomoyo looked at her image, wavy in the glass, and a young girl who put on a brave face. She was ready for this new part of her life, but she was terrified of it as well. She was not afraid of the work, although she knew she would be asked to do the least pleasant tasks, those things that the empress's older and far more powerful ladies would not stoop to do. What terrified her was that, after all these years, of being unseen, she would suddenly be highly visible, a topic of discussion, of speculation. There would be many who would question why she, of all those at court or in the nobility, had been chosen by the empress.

"I wish your father were here to see this," her mother said fiercely.

"And I as well. He would have been so pleased."

Her mother raised an eyebrow. Her mother did not mourn the loss of her father as she did. Mother rarely spoken of him, and never with fondness. Tomoyo had only small memories of a man lifting her into his arms, his laughter merry, and his embrace comforting. She missed him, even after all these years.

"You must never trust any of them," Mother said. "Listen, learn, and laugh. Flirt. But never, never trust."

Tomoyo nodded again. She knew what the court was. She'd been born in the shadow of a royal palace, where her father had been a clerk of the Wardrobe. Despite its name, the entity had little to do with clothing. The Wardrobe handled all the financial dealings of the emperor's household. The servants, garments, and accoutrements of the emperor and empress, of course, but much more, for the Wardrobe equipped not only the royal household but the emperor's armies as well. The Wardrobe was responsible for purchasing, dispensing and storing large supplies of armor, bows, swords, spears, lances, and other weapons, as well as the horses and the servants to care for it all.

Her mother was head seamstress for the empress, with a staff of five, and rooms at Tokyo and here at Tomoeda. Tomoyo had spent most of her young years roaming the halls of royal palaces, invisible to royal family and the nobles who frequented those halls. She had watched them with fascination, as a child mimicking their accents and manners for her mother's and grandmother's amusement. But all of that had changed now, for she would serve the empress.

Meiling of China was wife to Emperor Minamoto, a tiger of a man. Once Tomoyo had admired him. Now she hated him. Minamoto was a harsh emperor, one year of champion of the Christians, another year expelling them from their homes. She would never forgive him for his casual cruelty. Meiling, on the other hand, had taken the time occasionally to talk to her seamstress's daughter. Tomoyo had heard stories that with others-especially the tenants on her lands- Meiling were not so pleasant, and she certainly was not a popular empress with the people.

"What I don't understand," Tomoyo said, "is why I was chosen. The empress has always been kind to me, but we've not spoken a great deal, and I would not have thought she could even remember my name."

"There was a sudden opening, remember. She has known you all your life."

"Okaa-san, Empress certainly does not know me."

"Are you questioning your good fortune, Tomoyo? Most young girls would be delighted to have been offered this position. Most women in Japan would be delighted! You have the chance to reclaim our family's name, and perhaps to make a brilliant marriage. Why do you have to examine everything? If the empress does not know you well, time will remedy that."

"When I have become settled," Tomoyo said, "when the empress does know me, I will talk to her about Emperor Minamoto expelling the Christians. Surly, if I explain it well, that emperor was too harsh, that they did nothing wrong and have lost everything simply because handful of Tomoeder complained about them, surely she will talk to Emperor Minamoto. He could easily cancel his exclusion order."

Mother straightened, her eyes blazed. "You will not!"

"But I will, Mother. The emperor is only looking at it from one point of view. Jews are forbidden to lend money, and that's why the Christians were brought to Tomoeda. A few years ago the emperor himself defended them, and now this!"

"The emperor had put into the Tower and demanded they pay a fine to be released, Tomoyo! You will be silent on this."

"Sakura's family was driven out of Tomoeda like cattle. You did not see it. I did. And what did they do-prosper? Is that their sin?"

"They refused to acknowledge Gods."

"As do the Moors, but they are allowed to stay."

"There are not so many of them."

"They have not the wealth that the Jews have. Had. Do you not see this as an injustice, Mother? How can you see this?" I have lost my dearest friend-because of money!"

"It was time for that friendship to end, Tomoyo. It was unnatural."

"Unnatural! We were little girls together. There is nothing unnatural about that. She was my friend when others scorned us. She did not care that Grandmother was illegitimate and I did not care that she was a Christian."

"You must tell no one that you were friends with Sakura Kinomoto! No one! And you will not approach the empress with any complaint, let alone this one. You will risk more than a rebuke, Tomoyo, you risk your very life. And mine. And your grandmother's. Do you understand who you are, who the empress is? With one word she could have us all imprisoned or put to death. Your grandmother could be punished for allowing your friendship- encouraging it, even, and keeping it from me. You know I never approved of you being friends with her. I would lose my station, at the very least. You risk our lives!"

"If she is so harsh an empress that no one can talk to her, then why do I want to serve her at all? What loyalty do I have to Emperor Minamoto, whose grandfather chose not to acknowledge his own child? How easy it would been to acknowledge her!"

"You speak treason, Tomoyo!" Mother took a step back from her. "It is not for us to question the dealings of Emperors. I know you are young, and losing Sakura has wounded you, but you cannot ever speak of these things again. Ever! We have no choice in this. This is your grandmother's fault, letting you roam and mix with all sorts of people." Her expression softened. "Child, I know how steadfast you are, and that this has been difficult, being neither here or there. I ask you now to be loyal to me, and to your grandmother. You have been chosen to be elevated. It is a great honor, and God's plan for you. Do not question it. I pray you, child, keep your silence. Promise me that you will not confront the empress on this! You hold our very lives in your hands."

"Do you really believe that, Mother? That for merely questioning the emperor's expulsion of the Christians, we could all died?"

"Have you learned nothing in all your years at court? Why would you think that the empress would not agree with her husband in this? They are in accord on everything else, child. And if she were to complain to Minamoto of you, what think you of our chances then? Does he seem the kind of emperor who would enjoyed being questions? Do you think he would hesitate to have us removed from his presence? Do not question this, Tomoyo. Dislike it if you will, but say nothing. Promise me that you will say nothing."

"Mother-"

"Promise me!" Her mother burst into tears. "Go, then! Go. I cannot do more with this hanging between us." She wept into her hands.

Tomoyo sighed. Her mother never took the middle road on anything. All was perfect or it was unsalvageable. There was no other choice. She'd become accustomed to her mother's swings, the suddenness with which her moods changed. People once considered friends had been cut out of her life forever, but Tomoyo had never understood it. She could not imagine abandoning Sakura-who would have laughed at Tomoyo serving the empress. Tomoyo sighed, missing her friend even more and knowing she would not speak of this to the empress. Yet. She was sure there would come a day, when she and Meiling were alone, when she could talk of all this.

"Promise me at least that you will not risk our lives, Tomoyo."

"Iie, Okaa-san. I will not risk your and grandmother's lives."

"Or yours. Promise me!"

"I promise to be cautious."

Mother wiped her tears away. "Good. When the Court is at Tokyo, you will live with the empress's ladies and I will see you every day. Where the empress goes, you will go, of course. When she travels, you will travel. You will take an escort with you when you visit your grandmother. Remember to ask for it and don't go dashing off by yourself."

"I don't need an escort. I've been walking Tomoeda streets all my life."

"Not alone at night you haven't. Promise that if it is late and there is no one to escort you, you will stay in the palaces."

Tomoyo nodded. That would be no hardship; she liked the palaces with its three hundred years of history. She wondered what it would have been like to lived then, when William of Normandy Conqueror of the Japan, had built the magnificent structure and surrounding walls to protect his men and court from the hostile local population. Her mother hated the Palaces, and although she'd never said why, Tomoyo thought she knew. Her father's office had been there. The very buildings must be very painful reminder of her loss.

She watched her mother sew and thought of all the years her mother had served the empress, all the years she had been invisible at court, all the year she had cared for Tomoyo alone. And now, by a twist of fortune, Tomoyo had been given this golden chance. Somehow, she told herself, she will find a way to reconcile the two, to talk with the empress and still not endanger her family. She was sure she could. Somehow, strange as it seemed to her, she had caught the eye and the favor of the empress. She would be a fool not to make use of that.

"Name the empress's ladies," Mother said.

Tomoyo did, their faces coming to her mind with their names. Important women from important families, wives and daughters of important men. And Tomoyo, of no importance at all. But every one of them would know why Tomoyo had been included, and once again her great-grandmother's one sin would be recognized, but never discussed.

"Lady Dickleburg," her mother said. "You forgot her."

"Oh, hai," Tomoyo said, nodding, thinking of the aging courtier with distaste. Lady Dickleburg behaved as though she were young and desirable, but those days, and years, were the long past, although she gave no sign of recognizing that.

She wore clothes appropriate to a much younger woman, her very low necklines revealing deep wrinkles on her neck and décolletage, her deeper breasts no longer able to hold the bodice in the correct position. During the day sunlight cast shadows in the deep wrinkles around her mouth and eyes, and makes the eye makeup she used to hide the gray in her hair all too visible. Tomoyo's mother often said that Lady Dickleburg pulled the coils of her hair tightly to the top of her head to draw her skin up to hide some of wrinkles, but the attempt failed. Her skin, surrounded as it was by the white silk wimple she wore, was pasty. Her small brown eyes looked beady behind the folds of skins that threatened to hide them altogether. Her husband, a baron of little note from Sendai, was neither influential nor wealthy, and his family was certainly not noteworthy. Tomoyo thought her repulsive.

"Why is she still at court? Does she have some importance I don't know?"

Mother laughed. "In her youth she was attractive enough, in a sly and furtive sort of way. She was a very willing companion."

"Is it true that she was a mistress to several important men? Several!"

"It is. And some were willing to pay to have her stay at court rather than risk her talking of all she knew. They gave her rooms in which to live, bought her clothes and jewels to keep her quiet."

"What does her husband think of all that? Did he knows?"

"Do the waves on the shore retreat and return? Hai he knew. He flourished because of it, was contest to look aside and take other men's leavings. There may be no willing to pay for her favors now, but there were those who are willing to pay for her silence. She could smell a secret miles away. Never trust her with anything you do not want all of Tomoeda to know. She can be an interesting ally, for she knows everything about everyone. Now, you will need to be alert when you travel with the empress. The roads are not safe, and even with the emperor's men guarding you, you must be careful."

Tomoyo nodded, thinking of Sakura and her family. No word since they'd left. Tomoyo had not truly expected to hear from her friend, but it was so hard not to know what had happened to them. She sighed.

"I wonder where Sakura-"

"Hai, hai," Mother said. "I know you still worry. But we may never know what happened to them. Her father will have thought of somewhere to go. It's been but three months. Sakura and her family have no doubt found a haven somewhere."

"But where would they go? They had to leave Japan!"

"There is a world outside Japan. There are many places where a man like Fujitaka Kinomoto could find a position."

"I should ask Lady Dickleburg," Tomoyo said with a laugh. "If as you say, she knows everything, she'll know where they are. Or knows who knows."

Mother did not answer but looked at her with a strange expression. Then she put her needle down and stared at Tomoyo's skirts. Tomoyo watched her uneasily.

"It was banter, Okaa-san. I will not ask her about Sakura."

"Tomoyo," Mother said, an odd more note in her voice.

"And I promise to stop talking about Sakura. I know it's not wise even to acknowledge that we were friends. I do love her, but I will stop talking about her."

"Tomoyo." Mother did not look up from the helm. "There is something you need to know." She stood now and put a hand on Tomoyo's cheek, then sighed and walked across the room. "I would rather you never knew, but you need to know the truth, and I would have you hear it from me rather than from Lady Dickleburg, or someone else at court. There would never mention it in front of me, but now that you will be among them, someone is sure to tell you." She sighed again.

"Mother, I know all about great-grandmother's … folly. I know that Grandmother is unlawful. I've known that for years."

Her mother shook her head. "It is not that, Tomoyo. I know you've known about that. But … there is more that you need to know. And I do not know how to tell you." She turned to the window, tracing a finger along the leaded glass.

Tomoyo waited, her heart beginning to pound. What could it be? Was grandmother ill? Was that why Mother wanted her to visit her more often? Another possibility occurred to her.

"Are you ill, Mother? You look well, but are you…?"

"Iie, Iie. It is not me, child. Or rather, it is. You see, your father…I…" Mother turned from the window, her chin raised. "I was very young, not much older than you are now. He was so handsome and charming, and I believed everything he told me, that I was beautiful and that he loved me and that he would always love me and always be with me. He won my heart. I thought he loved me. And so I… I became his lover. And you came from that union."

"But there is no shame in that, Mother! Men and women always declare their love and marry and have children. It is the way of the world."

"The way of the world." Mother's laugh was unpleasant. "I should have known better, Tomoyo. I knew the shame of being a bastard. I knew the things said about my grandmother, that she was a emperor whore. I knew that my mother suffered for her mother's mistake and that her family disowned her. And still I learned nothing from knowing all that."

"But, Mother-"

"Hush! You need to hear this, and if I do not tell you now, I may never tell you. I am throwing you into a pit of wolves and I have just realized how ill-prepared you are." She took a deep breath. "I have misled you. Your father is not dead. He is alive."


	3. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own those characters, the plot, and the real people who are alive or dead. Those characters are owned by Clamp. The plot is owned by Kathleen Givens.**

**Gomen!!! I am so busy with college life and also final exams, but I am so relieved that it is over.**

Chapter 2

"His name is Lord Timber now." Mother said. "He was the son of a younger brother when I met him, but he inherited his uncle's title. He was never a clerk of the Wardrobe; that was a fabrication and I wish I'd never invented it, for its' make you far too fond of the Palaces. He did not marry me. He was already married, long before we … before you were born. He did not die. I am sorry that I let you believe that all these years. He has a home and a wife and children in the south, in Tibet, near the China border."

She paused, and then continued, her hands pressed together at her waist.

"You, Tomoyo, like your grandmother, are illegitimate. You must be wiser than I was. Do not trust the hunters. Never trust men."

Her mother turned her face away. Tomoyo rushed to embrace her, assuring her it made no difference. But of course it did. She was hurt that the truth had been kept from her for so long, and excited to discover that her father was still alive. Perhaps she could travel to meet him. But would he want to meet her? He'd abandoned them, after all. But still… her father was alive. And for years she had not known. Her emotions were tempered by the pain in her mother's eyes.

"Why did you not tell me?" she asked at last.

"At first you were too young to understand. And when you were old enough, I knew it would change the way you thought of me. What young girl wants to her that her mother was a wanton?"

"Mother! You are hardly a wanton! It doesn't change how I think of you." But even she said the words, she knew they were not true. All these years of being lectured to, of the repeated demands that her behavior be above reproach, and now to discover that her mother had been ... What? Foolish? Wanton? Surely her mother had never been a wanton, Tomoyo told herself. But she also knew that her mother never considered the consequences of her actions. Perhaps she'd been like that as young girl, plunging into situations without heed to the results, her emotions flaring and dying, hot and cold, as they still do now. And now she was bitter. But all those years… and to discover now, just as she was about to be thrust into the court, that she herself was illegitimate. That she was, like her grandmother, a bastard.

"It's doesn't," she said again, knowing that, like her mother, and she was capable of dissembling. It was an unquieting realization.

Her mother's eyes blazed. "But of course it does! It should! You need to be more careful, less trusting than I was. And your great-grandmother before me, though hers was the lesser sin, for how does one say no to an emperor? She had no choice and no family to protect her. But I did… I should know better, Tomoyo. I should never have believed him. I brought on my own ruin with my unseemly behavior. I was wanton."

"You were young. You were foolish."

"I was indeed young, and far more a fool. And that is why I warn you, why I have always warned you about men. They cannot be trusted."

"Would you ever tell me if I'd not been chosen as one of the empress's ladies? If you were not fearful now that someone like Lady Dickleburg would have told me…would you ever have told me yourself?"

"I always meant to tell you. When the time was right. When you were old enough. I meant to tell you. But…" Mother straightened her shoulders. "But perhaps not, Tomoyo. It's not something I ever wanted you to know."

"Are you…does he…do you hear from him?"

"Occasionally. At first he sent money, but in the last ten years…nothing."

"He has a wife, you said. And children."

"Seven, last I heard."

"Seven." Tomoyo was surprised. "I have sisters…or brothers."

"Yes. He has two sons older than you. And a daughter…just your age. And younger ones. I know nothing of them other than how many there are. Tomoyo, can you forgive me?"

"Oh, Mother!" Tomoyo rushed to hug her, then stepped away and gave her a tremulous smile. "Hai, Mother. It changes nothing. Hai I understand."

"Iie, you do not. You cannot. Until a man blinds you so completed that you will forget yourself, you will never understand. My prayer for you is that day never comes. Never let down your guard. Trust no one."

The first three days that Tomoyo served Empress Meiling was gray and cold. The fourth was brighter and the fifth clear and brilliantly warm. Tomoyo's mood matched the weather-gloomy and uncertain at first, then eventually clearing as she become more familiar with her new life and learned the tasks required of her. She'd been chosen to serve the empress. Of course, she was delighted. She told herself that daily. Her resentment against the emperor still burned within her, but she kept her silence, biding her time. When she had been at the court longer, when the empress, with whom she'd not yet a private conversation, knew her, when she proved her loyalty, then she would broach the subject of Sakura's people.

In the meantime, she had enough to deal with, learning her new responsibilities. And coming to terms with the truth of her birth. She tried not to wonder why her mother had waited so long to tell her the truth about her father's abandoning them. It would have fit so well in one of her mother's lectures about predatory men. She was sure that her mother had simply meant to caution her against being wanton. Or had her mother's motive in not telling her been less pure? She should be more generous, she told herself, less judgmental of her mother. Her mother was fragile, she knew that. And bitter, which was understandable after having been tossed aside.

Her father had seven children, two daughters and two sons who were older than she. She, who had longed for a sister all her life, had one. And at least two brothers. And she would never know any of them. She'd not asked her mother more-the questions that had occurred to her later, during the hours when she'd sat idle in the service of the empress. Waiting. She was surprised at how much time she spent waiting.

"At last I understand why I am called a lady-in-waiting." She told her grandmother when she was able to visit her, "for that's truly what I do."

She had been given the day to herself, asked only to return to Tokyo by dark, and in the clear morning had taken a boat down the river to see her grandmother, who greeted her with a wide smile and a sadness behind her eyes, which let Tomoyo know her mother had visited and told grandmother that Tomoyo now knew that she was illegitimate. They did not speak of it at first, taking to stead of Tomoyo's new life.

"I spend most of my time waiting. I thought I would be sitting in court, or walking in the garden with the empress. And I do both. But I had no idea that a lady-in-waiting meant just that."

Grandmother laughed with her and pushed a plate of figs closer to Tomoyo.

"What are your duties? What is the empress's day like?"

"We must rise first, of course, and ready her clothing and tidy the rooms and clear the chamber pots if they need cleaning, and receive messages. Most mornings-listen to me, in her service five days and already an expert!" Tomoyo laughed at herself. "The emperor visits every day, sometimes with her counselors. And the children are often there as well."

"The children each have their own household, do they not? How many are still at home? Empress Meiling had, what, fourteen?"

"Fifteen, but only six are still alive. Can you imagine, only six?"

"It's common, sweet. They were fortunate. Princess Ting is married and lives in Aomori, is that right? And Mei, the one they call Mei of Acre-she's the one who married Gilbert Ling in May?"

"Hai! I wish I'd been with the empress then. I'm told it was a magnificent ceremony at Tokyo Abbey. Surely you heard all about it?"

Grandmother laughed. "Surely I did. And just as surely I've forgotten. Unlike the rest of Tomoeda, I do not spend my day discussing what the emperor's family does. Princesses are expected to marry well, and she did. And the other children?"

Tomoyo counted on her fingers. "Margaret was fifteen, Meiling II is eleven, Elizabeth is eight and Prince Mina is six. Lady Dickleburg says they've all inherited their father's willfulness."

"Lady Dickleburg? She is still at court? No one's murdered her yet?"

"Grandmother! Why ever would they?"

"She knows far too much. They must be paying her well to keep her silence. Do not trust her, sweet."

"Oh, I don't, but she's ever so amusing. And I'm starting to know Naoko Yanagisawa. She's been very kind to me."

"Naoko Yanagisawa?" Grandmother sniffed. "Her grandfather was a merchant!"

Tomoyo laughed. "So was mine."

"Your grandfather," Grandmother said archly, "was successful merchant, who became a warrior. He gave me a very comfortable life. Her grandfather sold fish on the docks and then was able to buy a fish stall."

"Then how did she end up at court?"

"Naoko is lovely, which helped. And she had a benefactor. Naoko's mother married an old fool of a baron, who conveniently died shortly after Naoko and her sister were born. Now there was a woman who knew how to manage her life."

There was a pause. Tomoyo took a bite of fig. "Do you know him? My father? Did you ever meet him?"

Her grandmother sat back against the wall and watched her for a moment. "Timber? Many times. I despised him. Still do. He lied. From the first day, he lied, and my girl was foolish enough to believe him. There are men, Tomoyo, who cannot resist a pretty face or a willing young girl, and he is one. I daresay you are not the only child he fathered while he was here. The emperor fathered fifteen. I'm sure Lord Timber fathered as many. He could not keep his … he has no restraint."

"He was married before he met Mother?"

"For several years."

"And this was widely known? No one told her?"

"He was of little importance. It never entered my mind that she would find him attractive. He was furtive in his pursuit. I knew there was someone who had caught your mother's interest, but I thought it was the lad down the street. I knew he would not harm her. He loved her. Still does, if you ask me, but he's been married for years now, and he's not the kind to break his vows."

"My mother says she was a wanton."

Grandmother sighed. "Iie, although there is a wanton streak in our blood. Certainly my mother had it, but certainly yours did not. My mother never truly regretted her fall from grace. She told me all my life that I should be proud that I was the daughter of an emperor, for all the good that ever came of it. Although, this house was given to her and one cannot sneeze at that. The wages of sin, I suppose, are not always as paltry as one might think. But, sweet, you need to be wiser than my mother, and yours. You see how bitter she was. It is always the woman who pays the price, never the men. Be wise, my dear."

"Why did you never tell me?" Tomoyo tried to keep accusation out of her tone. "Why did neither of you ever tell me?"

"It was not my place to tell you; it was your mother's. I had hoped you would never know. Now you are mourning the death of your vision of your father, not the real man. Why did you need to know that your vision was far from the truth?"

"Did he know-my father-did he know about me? He must have, Grandmother. I remember him…"

"Of course he knew. His uncle was a powerful man and through him Timber got your mother appointed to the empress's staff. He would not care for her, but at least he made sure she would eat, although you know that I would never have let you starved. But your mother was proud and would not accept my help. I begged her to come here, but she was determined to pay the price for her mistake."

"Me."

"Iie, Tomoyo, you were not a mistake. He was. A charming, handsome mistake. He would have left her broken-hearted and ruined. You gave her a reason to get up each day, and she needed that after he left her. Bastard!"

"That would be me, not him, Grandmother." Tomoyo smiled weakly, feeling tears threatening.

They stood instead in her grandmother's eyes for a moment. "I apologize, sweet. I spoke without thought."

"But that's what I am, is it not? A bastard."

"Iie. A well-loved child."

"A love child, you mean. She hates men, Mother does. She hates them."

Grandmother sighed. "Hai. But there are good men as well as the liars. Listen to her, but temper your caution with your wisdom of your own, Tomoyo. There are few more wondrous things than a good man who loves you, child. Your grandfather loved me, and your mother. And he loved you. He was good and faithful man. They do exit. I only wish he had lived to see you grown."

"What did he think of my father?"

"It was good thing that Timber left Tomoeda before your grandfather heard the news. But enough of Timber, Is it true that the Chinese have asked Emperor Minamoto to decide who will rule them?"

"That is what I've heard. There are thirteen competitors, including King Terada of England and even Minamoto."

"Thirteen! Why not a hundred? What foolishness this is." Grandmother shook her head in disgust. "The Chinese will never agree among themselves. It will be their downfall, their inability to come together. It will be better if they simply recognized Minamoto as the emperor and let the whole land be united under his rule. It would have happened eventually anyway when the Maid married to Emperor Mina. We all know the emperor would have been the real ruler until they were grown. And the world would be better place for it, if you ask me. Look how much better off Wales is now that it is under the emperor's aegis. So, will the emperor go to China? Will the empress?"

"I'm not sure. The assembly that he held in Hong Kong, at China, has concluded. I'm told that emperor will stay in the east and that the empress will travel to meet him in Hong Kong. Hong Kong! Think of all I'll get to see!"

"Perhaps even China, although why anyone would want to see China is beyond me. Even the English knew there is nothing up there. But enough of China. Tell me, what do you wear these days?"

Tomoyo laughed and told her grandmother about the marvelous new clothing she wore in her new position.

Her grandmother loaded a basket with fruits and treats for Tomoyo to take to her mother and sent lad to accompany Tomoyo back to the river dock, where she would take one of the many ferries that ran travelers from the Town to Tokyo and beyond. A light rain was falling as Tomoyo gave the lad a coin, and then paid the ferry-man and stepped onto the boat. Her arms were around the basket, and when the wind lifted her hair into her face, she could not brush it aside.

"Careful, young lady," said a male voice. "Here, I'll assist you."

She felt her hand taken and tossed her hair of her face. He was tall, the young man who held her hand, and dressed in the garb of one of the emperor's household knights. She thought she knew all the knights of the emperor's household, but she'd never seen this one before. She would remember him. His hair was black, brushed back from a face, dark brows over brown eyes, and the shadow of a beard on his jaw. His cheekbones were sharp, his chin sharp as well. His smile was wide. English, she thought.

"Thank you, sir," she said crisply, stepping into the hull of the boat and withdrawing her hand from his.

She placed the basket next to her and folded her hands in her lap, looking across the river. The rain began to fall harder. Travelers around her began to pull hoods over their heads and grumble to each other, but the boat was not even half full and she knew they'd have to wait before the boat would leave.

She was wrong. The knight leaned to talk with the ferryman, and she saw the coins exchanged, and then the ferry pulled away from the dock. The knight settled on the bench, her basket between them, and gave her another smile.

"I did not think you would wish to wait for the rain to soak us all though."

"Iie."

She could think of nothing else to say and sat there like a fool. Had he really paid the boatman to leave at once? She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He gazed placidly out over the water as the boatman steered them into the center of the river. He must be one of the knights who had returned with Emperor Minamoto from England, where he had spent much time in the last few years, overseeing his English lands. He'd brought many knights back with him, granting the knights lands and titles. This man was younger than most, but his accent was unmistakable.

"You are one of the Empress's maids?" he asked, his tone mild.

"Hai," she said, surprised.

"You must be the new one."

"How did you know, sir?"

"It was not difficult to guess. Everyone in Tomoeda knows the empress has a new attendant. You must become accustomed to being recognized and approached to talk with the queen for people's causes and requests."

She'd been warned of that, that she would be asked to plead cases for others, and she knew ladies-in-waiting who had done just that and been richly rewarded for it.

His smile was wide. And charming, Tomoyo ignored the echo of her mother's words. What harm could there be in being polite on their short voyage? The other passengers were watching them openly, some with obvious disapproval, and some with apathy, a few with smiles.

"And you are, sir?"

"Dave de Potter."

She gestured to his clothing. "Sir Dave de Potter? One of the emperor's knight?"

"Yes. I am, and your name, my dear lady-in-waiting?"

"I am Tomoyo Daidouji."

"I am pleased to have met you, my dear lady."

"And I you, sir."

"Coming from a tryst with a lover?" He asked.

"Iie! I was visiting my grandmother."

They were silent for a moment.

"Are you?" she asked.

"Coming from a tryst with a lover?" He laughed. "I am. I am in love with this town. When I have time with myself, I roam the streets and learn every inch of her." He leaned closer. "She will soon have no secret from me. I'll warrant I know her better than you do."

"I'll warrant you do not, sir I have lived here all my life. I used to play here on the very street where we caught this boat."

"Did you?" His smile was slow. "Last year?"

"I am not so young as that, sir?"

"Ah, but you are, sweet Tomoyo Daidouji. Innocence is shining from those lovely eyes of yours. In a few years you will be dull and bored, but now you still have fresh shine of youth. It is quite appealing."

She gave him a sidelong glance, unsure of what to say. He chuckled to himself, but he did not speak again. At the dock at Tomoeda he lifted her basket and carried it up the stair from the river, reaching back for her hand, as though they had taken this journey together before. She let him assist her, and then dropped his hand once they were on level ground.

"You are going to the palace?" he asked.

She nodded.

"As I am. I will escort you there."

They did not speak as they made their way through the crowd and past the guards, who nodded to them. Once inside, Tomoyo shook the rain from her cloak and pushed her hood off, reaching for the basket. Dave handed it to her, bowed low, and gave her a smile as he strode away. She watched him until he rounded the corner, and then smiled to herself. Dave de Potter, Emperor's knight.

AN: There will be Character guides for which CCS will be in the position from the book characters. Then see you for the next chapter soon. The next chapter will be great for SS fans because Sakura and Syaoran will meet in Syaoran's homeland. We will see.


	4. Character Guide

_Characters from the book and the CCS Group_

_In Japan_

Isabel de Burke-Tomoyo Daijouji (Sakura's Best Friend)

Isabel's Grandmother-Tomoyo's Grandmother

Rachel de Anjou-Sakura Kinomoto (Main Character)

Sarah de Anjou-Lily Kinomoto (Sakura's younger sister)

Jacob de Anjou- Fujitaka Kinomoto (Sakura's father)

Edward Plantagenet-Emperor Minamoto (the MEANEST EMPEROR)

Eleanor Plantagenet-Meiling Minamoto (STRICT BUT KIND WIFE OF THE EMPEROR)

Walton Langton-Unknown person (I can't decide about him) (You can choose somebody if you want to, please email me if you want to)

_In China_

Margaret MacDonald MacMagnus-Madison Li Hiiragizawa (Mother to Eriol)

Gannon MacMagnus-Alexander Hiiragizawa (Father to Eriol)

Rory MacGannon-Eriol Hiiragizawa (younger child to Madison and Alexander and the cousin to Syaoran Li)

Magnus MacGannon-Jacob Hiiragizawa (Elder child to Madison and Alexander)

Drason Anderson-Takashi Yamazaki (Madison and Alexander's best friend)

Nell Crawford-Naoko Rea (Madison's sister)

Liam Crawford-Tai Rea (Naoko Rea's husband)

Davey MacDonald-Xi Ling Li (Naoko and Madison's younger brother and the future king of China)

Kieran MacDonald-Syaoran (Xiao Lang) Li (Main Character and the future prince of China)

Edgar Keith-Unknown person (same drill for you, look at Walton Langton line)

AN. I will follow this almost same plot as the book for few chapters, but after two chapters, then I will be free as I want to write about. Okay?


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